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From the margins to the center : an exploration of the Singapore identity in the theatre of Kuo Pao Kun
Author
Yew, Jude Choon Loong
Supervisor
Chin, Woon Ping
Abstract
Since the gaining of Independence in 1965, the quest to define the 'Singaporean Identity' has been a constant task for the nation's government. This ever mutating 'Singaporean Identity' forms the subject of three of Kuo's major plays; 0Zero01, Lao Jiu and Geylang. By sitting himself on the margins of Singapore's society, Kuo can be seen as offering a counter-narrative and an alternative to the official discourse of the 'Singaporean Identity'. Through his use of the marginal position, Kuo is allowed the freedom to be openly critical of the government's position on the nation's identity. At the same time, it also allows him to reflect upon and offer his own definition of what the 'Singaporean Identity' should or should not be.
Using Victor Turner's anthropological concept of Ritual as a framework to study Kuo's plays, this thesis will attempt to highlight Kuo's definition of identity as a progression of phases. This involves a negotiation of the complex needs of living in a multicultural and rapidly modernizing nation, where one needs to recover one's ethnic roots as well as to define one's place in society while being plural in a multicultural society. In his efforts to re-inscribe the 'Singapore Identity', Kuo validates the theatre as a space where the state of the nation can be redefined As such, Kuo's definition of identity poses problems as well. Despite the fact that Kuo sites himself on the margins, his position and stature in the local theatre is hardly a marginal one. Therefore the need to question Kuo's position of marginality, as more often than not, his definition of identity reinforces that of official discourse.
Using Victor Turner's anthropological concept of Ritual as a framework to study Kuo's plays, this thesis will attempt to highlight Kuo's definition of identity as a progression of phases. This involves a negotiation of the complex needs of living in a multicultural and rapidly modernizing nation, where one needs to recover one's ethnic roots as well as to define one's place in society while being plural in a multicultural society. In his efforts to re-inscribe the 'Singapore Identity', Kuo validates the theatre as a space where the state of the nation can be redefined As such, Kuo's definition of identity poses problems as well. Despite the fact that Kuo sites himself on the margins, his position and stature in the local theatre is hardly a marginal one. Therefore the need to question Kuo's position of marginality, as more often than not, his definition of identity reinforces that of official discourse.
Date Issued
1998
Call Number
PN2960.S5 Yew
Date Submitted
1998